Dr. Joel D. Ruark

Shalom! My name is Joel Ruark. However, because my last name can be hard to pronounce, I am most commonly known by my students as "Dr J." I earned my Ph.D. in Old Testament from Stellenbosch University in South Africa, and have been involved with a smattering of Bible-related projects throughout my career. I specialize in Hebrew linguistics from a cognitive semantic perspective, and my specific research focus is the metaphorical and theological uses of the concept of light in the Old Testament and other ancient Near Eastern literature and iconography. I take a strong secondary interest in the development of Christian theology and spirituality during the medieval period.

In my career I have taught Biblical Hebrew and the Hebrew Bible in general in a variety of contexts, both in Africa and in the US. My experience has run the gamut of theological education, including leading church small groups, teaching adult education modules for ministerial certification, teaching for-credit classes on grauate and undergraduate levels, and leading seminar classes for postgraduate students. My personal and professional content can be accessed via my blog (https://readingtheoldtestament.com/), my YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@OTDrJ), my SoundCloud channel (https://soundcloud.com/otdrj), and my Academia page (https://sun.academia.edu/JoelDRuark).